摘要: |
One of the great truths about bus and coach preservation is that nothing is guaranteed forever. Vehicles acquired for preservation do not all survive long enough to undergo full restoration and even some that are restored, cosmetically at least, are sold on for other purposes or for scrap. That is one of the messages that comes through from this account by retired librarian Malcolm Batten of the formative years of the private preservation movement, one that began in a tentative way in the 1950s, picked up some momentum in the 1960s and grew enormously from the 1970s onwards as individuals and groups developed the knowledge, expertise and financial resources to acquire, store safely and rebuild vehicles that had reached the end of their design life but are held in affection by those who know them. |